New Copernicus cooperation arrangement between the European Commission and Japan

Director-General  for Defence Industry and Space, Timo Pesonen, has signed on behalf of the European Commission, a Copernicus Cooperation Arrangement with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan.

The Arrangement was signed in the margin of the EU-Japan Space Dialogue taking place in Brussels this week.

The aim of this new Arrangement is to facilitate reciprocal data sharing of Earth Observation data between the EU and Japan. It represents a milestone in the efforts to address together common global challenges with space-based data.

This Arrangement will provide mutual benefits to both sides. End-users in Japan will enjoy easier and simplified access to Copernicus data through the Tellus Data hub, which will host the Copernicus Sentinel data and establish a link with the Copernicus Data Access System (DAS). The Copernicus ecosystem in Europe will get access to data from Japan’s non-commercial Earth Observation satellites. Access to in-situ data from Japan will enhance the quality and precision of Copernicus services for the benefit of all users.

EU and Japan step up cooperation on hydrogen

The EU and Japan have a long-standing cooperation in space and share common strategic interests. Both sides commit to accelerate the use of satellite data for cooperation in a number of areas of common interest, including the long-term management of natural resources, monitoring of marine and coastal areas, pollution and biodiversity, climate change adaptation and global CO2 greenhouse gas monitoring, disaster risk reduction and food security, among others.

The technical implementation of this Arrangement will be steered by an “EU-Japan Copernicus Coordination Group” including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) and its Space Agency (JAXA) and, on the European side, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and the European Commission.

Deeper cooperation between EU and Japan is a vital necessity

The Arrangement will ultimately boost the uptake of Copernicus data and services worldwide and help to promote Copernicus as a global best practice and accepted standard internationally.

More information: Delegation of the European Union to Japan